Nowadays, English is an international language and has been widely used in many
countries in the world. In Vietnam, English is also considered the most important foreign
language and taught as a compulsory subject in most schools throughout the country. It has
also become an important need of the Vietnamese as a means of communication. As a result,
there have been a lot of changes in English teaching in order to meet the need. One of the
changes relates to new English language teaching syllabus and new textbooks, which have
arrived at high schools since 2006. The new textbooks change from a grammar and vocabulary
focus into a skill focus: listening, writing, speaking and reading. This, therefore, has
advantages as well as disadvantanges in teaching and learning English.
In the new English textbook “Tieng Anh 10” ,which refers to “English 10”, reading is the
first skill presented in each unit. This proves the important role of reading. This is
understandable as generally speaking, reading provides students with the abilities to
understand the written materials. Reading has become not only an important means to gain
knowledge but also a means by which further study takes place.
This is the second year I have taught the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10”to the 10
th
form
students. I have met a lot of difficulties. The biggest challenges emerge from teaching reading
comprehension. My colleagues in my school have the same problems. We usually find it
difficult and hard to teach in reading lessons. Despite the teachers’ efforts, the students’
reading skills are disappointing. Most of the students do not understand the texts and do not
complete the reading tasks well. If those difficulties are not found out and no solutions to
overcome are given, it is certain that reading lessons cannot be successful and it even becomes
worse. This has a great effect on students’ learning result. On theother hands, students will be
fed up with learning English if they find it worthless to study this subject.